Gilbert Frankau

Alyson Pendlebury (University of Southampton)
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Gilbert Frankau was born in London on April 21, 1884, the eldest son of Arthur Frankau (ca. 1845-1904) and his wife Julia (

nèe

Davis, 1859-1916). His father ran Joseph Frankau & Co., the cigar importing business that had been established by Gilbert's paternal grandfather, who had moved from Diespak, Bavaria, to London in 1837. Gilbert's mother wrote fiction under the pseudonym “Frank Danby”. Her novels included

Dr Phillips, a Maida Vale Idyll

(1887), in which she attacked the aspirations and values of middle-class Jews, and

Pigs in Clover

(1903).

Although both his parents were Jewish, Gilbert Frankau was discouraged from identifying with Jews and Judaism, and was baptised into the Anglican Church at the age of thirteen. He went to Eton, which provided the material for his first

1073 words

Citation: Pendlebury, Alyson. "Gilbert Frankau". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 November 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5205, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5205 Gilbert Frankau 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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